Letters From Nobody
by secretfanficlover
Summary: MuggleAU, if Harry had gone to the St Brutus and Draco ended up in Smeltings with Dudley.


**This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.**

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Word Count: 2107

Title: Letters From Nobody

Note: MuggleAU!

Beta: Aya

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Golden Snitch

[Name] Crissie

[School] Uagadou

[House] Ogyinae

Doctor Who Day: Write about the choice between what is right and what is easy.

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Hogwarts

Yearly:

Prompt 805 [Senario] We've been pen pals for like hella months and we finally decided to meet up and damn your cute, also did you break up with your jerk bf/gf yet?

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Harry was sitting in class, he wasn't paying attention to the teachers, and he just couldn't wait until he got back to his dorm where there would be more letters from his pen pal. They didn't talk about anything specific, and Harry couldn't even remember how it had all started. He talked about how he hated not having friends, how he was getting bullied for being the smart one. Whereas the mysterious letter writer would tell him how it was better than having friends that were only there for the status you offered them.

Harry couldn't imagine being used for anything since he had nothing. He lived in the cupboard under the stairs with his aunt Petunia. She never spoke about his parents, but he had always suspected that his aunt was ashamed of them.

While it could be said that his uncle hated questions more than anything, and whatever had happened to his parents, they were gone now. All that he could do was try his best to get away from them, perhaps he could get a sports scholarship somewhere far away from them.

It was easy being away from them, but he still wasn't far enough. He ran into his cousin Dudley more often than he wanted, and his cousin would attempt to smack him with the big Smeltings stick he often carried around. Harry was lucky he was fast since he had managed to dodge a lot of the blows that could land on him.

He sat doodling in class, his eyes peering out the window, he spotted something outside, like a dove just fluttering by and landing in a tree nearby. He heard his name being called and realized he needed to pay attention to the class. He wasn't stupid or anything, which was just as well, because his mind was just somewhere else today.

He walked to his dorm with his tattered old bag. It had holes everywhere, and if he wasn't careful his last pencil would slip through the hole and there was no use asking his aunt for any money. They always did the bare minimum for Harry, if they could, he was sure they would have left him at an orphanage. He often thought he might have been better off in one, at least that would explain the lack of love he had in his life, except for his mysterious pen pal. This person was the only one that seemed to actually care about him. He spotted a letter pushed under his door and grinned, he threw the door open eagerly, picking up the letter with a grin. He fell back onto his bed and unfolded it, starting to read.

The letter spoke about his friend's day, small, silly things, what he ate during lunch, how the wind felt on their skin during a surprise whirlwind that hit the school break area. Harry touched the orange paper gently. Then he held it to his chest and sighed.

He got up and fished his last pencil out of his bag, he ripped out a page out of the back of his school maths book and started to write his reply. He told his friend about his own day, how he spent his morning sitting and watching the red clock tick slowly onwards. He also mentioned the white dove in the tree and the feeling of peace that came over him. It was something he wasn't used to feeling. He folded the letter in half and then set it aside. With a sigh, he opened his math book and dug into his homework. He knew he had better get some of it done, tomorrow was one of the days Professor Snape did a spot check to see who had been doing their homework. He laughed, it wasn't very hard to figure out when the professor would check the homework, and most days he managed to get away with only doing it about once a week.

He then packed his tatty math book into his bag and took his letter to the nearby post office. He was happy that he was allowed outside for that. As well as the fact that his teacher had given him special permission to find a part-time job after school.

He coached the little ones in cricket, and he loved being the one to help the little boys and girls reach their passion for sports. He often thought he would want to do this for a living, helping others in this way was so rewarding to him. He went into the post office, scraping together a few cents for some stamps. The man that worked at the post office was called Hagrid, he was something like a friend to Harry. The man was so large he was taller than any other man Harry had ever seen. He also had a long bushy beard and black beady eyes.

"Hiya Harry," he said with a smile as Harry walked through the door and the bell chimed.

"Hi Hagrid." Harry grinned back. "I need more stamps please."

"This lady of yours seems like something really special if you keep sending all these love letters," Hagrid teased lightheartedly.

"I'm actually not sure if it is a girl, to be honest, I have never asked," he admitted. Hagrid's eyes raised curiously.

"Surely it doesn't matter," he added when Hagrid said nothing.

"Yeah, it don't matter one bit," Hagrid said, taking the letter from him.

"Thanks, Hagrid," he said and then turned to leave the post office.

He whistled to himself until he spotted Dudley, then he ducked behind a bush. He saw his cousin was with a blond boy with steel grey eyes, and something about him just screamed that he was important. He wondered how boys became such snobs, and if it was all the parents doing. He blamed aunt Petunia for how Dudley was to a large extent.

"Who do you keep sending letters to?" he heard Dudley asking the blond boy.

"Wouldn't you love to know, that's my business," the boy said sternly.

"Whatever Draco, I would be ashamed too if I was sending letters. Who even writes letters anymore?" he teased. Harry watched the boy pursed his lips in an attempt not to react and rise to Dudley's teasing. Harry felt quite in awe watching the boy, he had never managed to keep quiet when Dudley started really getting on his nerves. He found it quite impressive how the boy contained his emotions.

After the two left with the rest of the group, Harry came out from his hiding spot behind the bushes, brushing off his tatty clothes, he walked back to the school.

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It wasn't long before his next letter arrived, initially, the letters had only come once a week, and yet the last month they had been sending letters back and forth at least three times a week. They often talked about their days, and what was happening in the vaguest way possible.

That was until about a week ago, the pen pal started talking about relationship problems, it finally came out that he was a boy, and also that he was in a relationship with another guy. There were no names, that would be breaking all the rules, but his friend was asking for his advice. It seemed the boyfriend was ashamed of their relationship, and he didn't want them going public. Harry explained that perhaps the boyfriend wasn't ashamed of him, but rather what others would say to being different. He also mentioned that he wasn't in the same boat, as nobody seemed to want anything to do with him, even though he was no longer in Dudley's shadow.

He confessed that he would be proud to have someone just love him for who he was, and nothing would make him happier. All he could suggest was to not settle for less than he deserved. Of course, his friend could do so much better. This boy was a poetic soul, and he seemed to be one of the most tender hearts Harry ever had the pleasure of knowing. After sending that letter, he went red, and realised that he probably said way too much. He never worried about it before, but maybe it was knowing it was a boy finally made him aware of how they wrote to one another. It was like love letters from nobody. He didn't know who this boy was, but something inside him ached every time he came to his room and didn't find a letter from him there.

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_Would you like to meet?_

That was the last line of the letter he received that day. His heart was racing, and then he reminded himself. _His friend has a boyfriend._ He needed to be careful, he had already lost his heart without ever setting eyes on this boy. There was something about the poetic voice that seemed to whisper to his soul.

It was more than he felt he could comprehend, that someone like that would want to meet him at all. What if he disappointed the boy? What if he got there and it was some cruel prank? It was a few days that went by after the letter, and Harry still hadn't written back. He received another letter. This one said that it didn't matter if he didn't want to, he just didn't want to lose his friend. All he had wanted that day was to sit across from Harry and have a real conversation with him, not needing to wait days for a reply.

That was when Harry realised how stupid he had been for avoiding the issue, he should have known that this person wasn't going to worry about anything like who he is. Even if he did go to school with Dudley, which was likely.

Harry wrote back, explaining how he panicked and didn't want to ruin their friendship. He did, however, decide to meet up with this boy anyway. Something inside him hungered to meet a kindred soul.

So they were to meet each other at the ice cream shop a few blocks from the post office. Harry was sitting at the table when the blond boy walked in, and he almost ducked under the table out of habit before realizing he wasn't with Dudley.

"Hi. You're Dudley's cousin, aren't you?" the boy asked with a scrutinizing look.

"I'm Harry Potter," he replied. He hated being part of the family and would prefer everyone forgetting it.

"I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy," he said. Seeing Draco now he couldn't imagine he was the same person from the letters.

"That's a cool name," Harry replied. "Figured a poetic man like yourself would have a unique name." After the compliment, he felt his cheeks glow warm.

"Thank you," Draco said, sitting down. "Nobody has ever said that before."

"That they like your name?" Harry frowned.

"No, the other thing," he said softly, and something in his eyes gave away an emotion his face kept locked up.

"Well then, your welcome," Harry grinned.

"Why does it feel like I know you so much better than anyone else?" Draco asked suddenly.

"I've thought about it, I think anonymity gives one the chance at utmost expression so there is no need for pretense," Harry said with a shrug.

Draco let out a sarcastic laugh, but Harry felt something more underneath.

"You know, your boyfriend sucks," Harry said.

"He does," Draco agreed.

"Are you still dating that jerk?" Harry asked suddenly.

"No. He promised we would come out, but I think he was just leading me on," Draco admitted.

"What an idiot. I would be proud to be with someone like you," Harry muttered, speaking too soon.

"Someone like me?" Draco seemed offended by the statement.

"Not only are you witty and clever, and secretly a gentle soul, but you are also the most beautiful person I have ever met, and the exterior matches," Harry said.

Draco couldn't hide the blush on his pale cheeks this time, and it was clear to Harry what he said was too much and he had never heard anything like that before.

"Beautiful?" Draco laughed.

"Would you prefer a synonym, I could think of some…" Harry trailed off, not really fully aware of this anymore. He was flirting and he didn't even know it.

"That's fine, Harry," Draco said softly. Harry's name was like a whisper on his lips.

"This won't be easy for you," Harry said, gesturing between them.

"You're worth it," Draco said and Harry felt his body melt into a gooey mess. He was head over heels, and they only just met.


End file.
